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He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;
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it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
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He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
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Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.
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This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."
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Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
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He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
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the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,
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and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
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Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
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The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
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and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
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"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
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"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;
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on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
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"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;
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when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
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So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
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and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes."
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And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
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When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
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He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power?
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Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
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And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?"
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And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house."
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And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.